Cold prevents the Queen from seeing Harry in Army parade
By Caroline Davies
(Filed: 21/06/2005)

The Queen has cancelled three engagements because of a bad cold, Buckingham Palace said. They include a visit to Sandhurst to see her grandson, Prince Harry, on parade.

The Queen caught the cold at the Ascot races in York
She caught the cold last week while at the Ascot races in York, where the weather was often cold and rainy. It has affected her voice.

A spokesman said the cancellations were "not done lightly" and that the Queen was recovering at Windsor Castle. "She did not want to pass on her cold to those she was meeting," he said.

"She had a sore throat and did not attend a private engagement at a polo match over the weekend." Today she had been due to present new Colours to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in Camberley, Surrey.

The visit was keenly anticipated, not least because of Prince Harry's presence at Sandhurst.

He is due to parade with the other 762 officer cadets and the Queen was to have carried out the inspection.

It would have been her first opportunity to see her grandson in Army uniform.

Lt-Col Roy Parkinson, a spokesman for Sandhurst, said the event would still go ahead before 3,500 guests but it was not certain who would take the Queen's place.

It is hoped that the Queen will be well enough by Thursday to travel to St Andrews, where she is due to see Prince William collect his degree at his graduation ceremony.

"Time will tell", was all her spokesman would say.

The Queen had also been due to attend a reception last night to mark the centenary of the Friends of the Elderly, at St James's Palace, which Prince Philip attended on her behalf.

The third cancelled engagement was an audience with the president of Singapore at Buckingham Palace.

The last time the Queen cancelled public engagements was in December 2003 after an operation to remove torn cartilage from her left knee and surgery to remove lesions from above her eyebrow.

A Buckingham Palace insider said: "She is quite unwell, has a temperature, a terrible sore throat and has lost her voice.

"But she is very proud of William graduating and does not want to miss it."

I'm so sorry. I understand how she feels, because my colds are always terrible and they usually force me to stay at home for a couple of days.

Get well soon, Ma'am!

__________________I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.HRH Princess Elizabeth, Cape Town, 21st April 1947

__________________I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.HRH Princess Elizabeth, Cape Town, 21st April 1947

The Queen will attend Prince William's graduation in St Andrews tomorrow
Royal Family: how much do they cost us?
3.18PM, Wed Jun 22 2005

The Queen has revealed how much the Royal Family costs the taxpayer with the release of her public accounts.

Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, revealed that the Queen and the royal family cost each person in the country 61p per year - the same as in 2003-2004 - and insisted that the monarch provides value for money.

But the use of expensive chartered flights has been criticised - one official trip made by the Prince of Wales to Sri Lanka, Australia and Fiji cost nearly £300,000.

And a chartered flight by the Duke of York to the Far East to promote British interests cost just under £125,000.

It was also disclosed that the Queen has received a business rate rebate on Buckingham Palace of more than £1 million from Westminster City Council.

Mr Reid said of the figures this year: "We believe this represents a value for money monarchy. We're not looking to provide the cheapest monarchy. We're looking at one of good value and good quality."

Meanwhile, the Queen is to resume her public engagements after suffering from a heavy cold.

British royal family 'a good value' at cost of $1.12 per taxpayer, palace says

The Associated Press
LONDON — British taxpayers paid the equivalent of $1.12 each last year to support Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family, a "good value" as far as monarchies go, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday.

The palace, which has been under political pressure to control costs in recent years, said in its annual summary that the senior royals' expenses totaled the equivalent of $67.1 million in the fiscal year ending March 31.

That is down 0.3 percent from the previous year. Considering inflation, spending was down 2.3 percent, the palace said.

"We believe this represents a value-for-money monarchy. We're not looking to provide the cheapest monarchy. We're looking at one of good value and good quality," said Alan Reid, keeper of the privy purse, the official responsible for royal finances.

Significant savings had been made on insurance and through a property tax rebate on Buckingham Palace, Reid said. The royals were refunded the equivalent of more than $1.83 million from a local council for taxes paid on the central London property after successfully winning an appeal against a large tax increase in 2000.

The royal family spent more money in the past year on employing staff, hosting receptions for visiting heads of state, ceremonial occasions and overseas tours.

Would you be happy to pay $1 a year for Britain's royal family?Yes or No View Results

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Details of the British royal family's travel budget -- including a £300,000 ($550,000) trip by Prince Charles -- have been revealed on Wednesday, prompting critics to demand the monarchy trim its spending.

Buckingham Palace said that the figures, which showed the royal family cost each taxpayer just 61 pence ($1.12) a year, proved Queen Elizabeth and her household were providing good value for money.

But critics seized on details of the £5 million transport costs.

The most expensive was a trip to Sri Lanka, Australia and Fiji by heir-to-the-throne Charles which involved chartering a plane costing more than £292,000.

It also showed the queen's second son Andrew, who was criticized last year for expenses incurred on his golf trips, spent £125,000 chartering a flight to the Far East to promote British interests.

Lawmaker Ian Davidson, a member of Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party, said the monarchy provided "reasonable value" but called the expenditure of the junior members of the royal family "indefensible".

He also described the royal train, used just 19 times over the year, as "a gross extravagance".

"We ought to have more of the royals using normal trains then perhaps they would put pressure on the powers that be to make sure the train service was improved for everyone," he told the BBC.

The death of Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997 marked a turning point in public opinion and led to attacks on the monarchy's wealth and demands that it become more open and accountable.

Shortly afterwards, the queen agreed to scrap her beloved royal yacht Britannia rather than ask the public to pay £60 million for a replacement.

The Royal Public Finances annual report said the queen's family cost the taxpayer £36.7 million in 2004-5, a £100,000 saving from the previous year, with the vast bulk of the money going towards the upkeep of the royal palaces.

It was also 60 percent less than in 1991-2 when the expenditure amounted to £87.3 million.

"We believe this represents a value-for-money monarchy," said Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, who looks after the queen's finances.

"We're not looking to provide the cheapest monarchy. We're looking at one of good value and good quality."

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited a new £20 million concert hall today.

The Queen arrived at the Perth Concert Hall just after 1pm this afternoon, having travelled directly from St Andrews where she saw grandson William graduate.

Stepping out of her car the Queen and the Duke were welcomed to Perth by Sir David Montgomery, the Queen’s official representative for Perth and Kinross.

It is the Queen’s first visit to Perth in more than 20 years.

The royals walked past Tayside Police’s High Constables, also known as the Provost’s ceremonial guard, and met a line-up which included Lord Provost Bob Scott, local MP Pete Wishart and Chief Constable Jon Vine.

The new concert hall, built on the site of the once-bustling Horsecross Market area in Perth, has a 1,200-seater auditorium and is expected to be completed by September this year.

Once inside the concert hall, which has a glass front, the Queen took a tour of an exhibition involving the artistic work of local schoolchildren.

The Eco Schools Exhibition showcased the work of pupils from seven primary schools in the Perth and Kinross area as part of an initiative to raise awareness of climate change and the importance of being environmentally friendly.

The Queen and the Duke spoke to local schoolchildren before visiting another exhibit in the lobby of the concert hall, promoting the music facilities available at Perth College, the main provider for further and higher education in the area, which currently enrols around 10,000 students a year.

The Queen and the Duke then moved into the heart of the concert hall area for a short reception and lunch with the Lord Provost of Perth, Bob Scott.

The Queen and several senior royals will be heading the showcase International Fleet Review being held to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

More than 250,000 people and over 10,000 spectator yachts are expected to gather to witness the historic inspection of 167 ships in the Solent, off Portsmouth.

Navy leaders from 57 nations invited by the Royal Navy will be taking part in the bicentenary event on Tuesday June 28.

The Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales will be among the royals who will witness the Fleet Review from on board a navy ships.

It will be one of the biggest royal engagements Camilla has taken part in to date.

The Queen in her role as Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom will carry out the Review on board HMS Endurance, which returns to Portsmouth from deployment today (Friday).

She will be accompanied by Admiral of the Fleet the Duke of Edinburgh and will also visit Portsmouth’s naval base.

Navy Commander the Duke of York will watch the Queen lead the occasion from HMS Enterprise, the Princess Royal from RFA Sir Bedivere, the Duchess of Gloucester from HMS Gloucester and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent from RFA Fort George.

The royals will also attend various All Ranks receptions and dinners on the fleet including on HMS Invincible and HMS Illustrious.

Anne, who is Chief Commandant for Women in the Navy, will be accompanied by Rear Admiral Timothy Laurence and will also visit HMS Albion before attending a dinner at Southsea Castle.

__________________I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.HRH Princess Elizabeth, Cape Town, 21st April 1947